News List

According to the quarterly report of the Bia Media
Monitoring Desk, relating to events in July, August and September 2007, 125
people, most of them journalists, and six media institutions have been tried
for expressing their thoughts freely.

This report lists the violations of the freedom of
expression under seven headings:

Murder, attacks and threats

Detentions and arrests

Trials and investigations

Corrections and seeking legal redress

European Court of Human Rights

Reactions to censorship

RTÜK [Radio and Television Supreme Council] practices

Murder, Attacks and Threats

Two security officers who were involved in the taking
of photos of O.S., the murder
suspect of Agos editor Hrant Dink, together with gendarmerie
and police in the tea room of the Samsun Department for Terrorism, are now on
trial. At the first hearing at the fourth penal court in Samsun on 28 September, the defendants Metin Balta, the acting director of the
Terrorism Department, and Ibrahim Firat,
police officer at the department, did not attend. The hearing has been
postponed until 2 November in order to take their statements and evaluate
demands. Bahri Bayram Belen, a
lawyer for the Dink family, has demanded that the court file of Balta and Firat
be added to the murder case which is being heard at the Istanbul 14th Heavy Penal court.
Belen also requested that Hrant Dink’s wife, daughter, son and brother be
allowed to join the trial as third-party plaintiffs.

When nationalist singer Ismail Türüt and lyrics writer Arif
Sirin (also known as “Bard Arif”) gave statements about the song “Plan,
don’t make a plan” and the clip which was broadcast on You Tube using that
song, Radikal reporter Serkan Ocak
asked Türüt: “Are those with you your body guards?” One of the men pointed his
finger at Ocak and said, “Be careful”. Türüt called his entourage “my friends,
my fans.” In the Objektif programme
on Fox TV, broadcast on 20
September, Sirin continued to threaten journalist Ali Bayramoglu of the Yeni
Safak newspaper, who had first written about the song and the video clip.
He said: “I was surprised at Ali Bayramoglu’s approach in this matter. What is
such a writer doing in such a climate? This community needs to examine this
writer carefully.” Bayramoglu had previously been threatened after publishing
an article entitled “Our Life is in Danger” on 4 July, in which he pointed out
the importance of solving the Hrant Dink
murder. He received an email message saying, “If you continue to write like
that, you will end like Hrant Dink”. The matter has been taken to the
prosecution.

Lawyers of the Dink
family have appealed against the decision of the Trabzon Governor’s Office not
to allow the investigation of Ramazan
Akyürek, the head of the Intelligence Unit at the Police Department, Resat Altay, former police chief in Trabzon, and police
officers Engin Dinc, Faruk Sari, Ercan Demir, Özkan Mumcu, Muhittin Zenit and Mehmet Ayhan. The
governor’s office is basing its refusal on a report by investigators of the
Ministry of the Interior who had prepared a report.

Kasim Ciftci, the owner
of the “Hakkari Province Voice”
newspaper died on the evening of 22 September after being shot by one or more
unknown persons. The murder was condemned by the Van Lake Journalists’ Society, the former Hakkari mayor and Abdurrahman Keskin, owner of Hakkari’s
“The People’s Voice” newspaper. It
is not clear yet whether he died because of activities relating to press
freedom or the freedom of expression.

“Radikal”
journalist Türker Alkan wrote that
he used to receive threats before 28 February 1997, a date commonly
remembered as a “postmodern coup” in Turkey. He said that threats by
email had resumed since the general elections of 22 July. Writing on 6
September, Alkan said: “After 22 July, angry and threatening communications
have again shown themselves. In a recently received communication, someone
claiming to be a police officer said that I was a ‘traitor’ and that s/he would
‘shoot into my head twice.’” Alkan added, “Who knows, was that person really a
police officer? But even if s/he was not, what do you think it means that
someone with such a mentality has appropriated the role of police officer?”

Prime Minister Erdogan
criticised “Hürriyet” columnist Bekir Coskun heavily for writing about Abdullah Gül, “He Will Not Be My
President”. In the Arena programme
of Kanal D, which Erdogan attended
on 20 August, he responded to the column by saying: “Unfortunately there are
those who do not know propriety. Those who say such things should first give up
their citizenship of the Turkish
Republic.” In his
editorial comment, Oktay Eksi of the
“Hürriyet” newspaper then replied: “The honourable Prime Minster has to be
asked by someone: ‘Are you kicking Bekir Coskun off your father’s farm?” Orhan Erinc, president of the Turkish
Journalists’ Society (TGC) evaluated
the PM’s comments as “unfortunate and misplaced”. Prime Ministerial
spokesperson Akif Beki replied that
the Prime Minister had not criticised Coskun, but the attempts at making the
issue [of the presidential elections] personal.

Reporter Ahmet
Ün of the local “Kulp News”
newspaper in Diyarbakir
filed a criminal complaint in August, saying that he has been receiving death
threats and insults from mayor Mahmut
Zengin after criticising him for not solving a water problem which was
causing illnesses.

The “Tunceli
Emek” (Labour) newspaper, which had reported that a petrol tanker belonging
to the state-run village services had emptied its petrol into the petrol
station of former mayor Hasan Korkmaz,
was subsequently visited by a man called Hasan
Cakici on 3 August. He threatened newspaper employees. It has been said
that after he was removed from the office with the help of others, Hasan
Korkmaz’s brother came to the office and hurled threats.

Aris Nalci, the news
editor of the weekly Turkish-Armenian “Agos”
newspaper has said that although there has been a decrease in email threats,
they do continue. High school student R.D.
was arrested on 2 August for sending the newspaper a threatening email one day
after editor-in-chief Hrant Dink’s
murder. In his first statement R.D. said, “I sent that message in a moment of
ignorance.” He was then sent to Bayrampasa prison in Istanbul.

Sinan Tekpetek, journalist
and editor for the “Özgür Hayat”
(Free Life) newspaper and the “yüzde 52
Öfke” (52 percent Anger) magazine, has stated that he was forcibly taken
away by a police car in Taksim (central Istanbul) on the evening of 26 July,
brought to a desolate place, continuously exposed to insults, death threats and
violence, and then thrown out of the police car near Karaköy. The international
Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
reacted to the incident by saying: “It is not clear yet whether the journalist
was exposed to violence because of his professional activities as a journalist
or because of a court case related to his objection to police violence.” In a
press statement which he read at the Istanbul
branch of the Human Rights Association (IHD),
Tekpetek said that he did not know the reason for the attack, but that it may
either be the activities of the magazine or a court case opened against him
after he had witnessed police violence in 2005. Tekpetek gave a statement to
prosecutor Enver Dikilitas on 31
July.

The daily “Bölge”
(Region) newspaper in Adana was attacked bya group for writing that those who “made efforts to ensure that no one
voted for the CHP (Republican
People’s Party) thus did not have the right to criticise the CHP”. Around 20
people came to the newspaper office to speak to editor-in-chief Nevzat Ucak. They reacted to an article
published on 29 July, which said that “the gathering in front of the head
office was a fiasco” and to an article criticising them as “The Children of
Soros” on 30 July. The CHP opponents insulted newspaper employees and when they
reacted, the intruders harrassed them further. Ucak said, “We wrote that those
who had said ‘Do not vote for the CHP’ and who had hung up posters, put adverts
in newspapers and had generally worked towards that goal, did not have the
right to call for CHP chair Baykal’s
resignation; they stormed our office.” The
Cukurova Journalists’ Society condemned the attack with a statement.

On 13 July, the Professional
News Camerapersons’ Association condemned the physical attack by AKP supporters on the news group of the
Kanaltürk channel when filming an
election campaign with 500 cycling children in Ankara. Cameras were broken and film cassettes
confiscated. Reporter Duygu Kayacik
and cameraman Müjdat Genc were targeted,
too. In its statement, the association said: “We demand that those responsible
for the attack on democracy and free publishing during the election campaign,
one of the greatest gains of democracy, be brought to trial.”

On 13 July, lawyers of the Dink family appealed against the decision of the Samsun Public
Prosecution to dismiss proceedings against police and gendarmerie officers who
formed close relationships with Hrant Dink’s murder suspect O.S. after his arrest.

In the Hrant Dink murder
trial, joint attorneys appealed against the decision of the court to release
four of the eighteen detained suspects, Salih
Hacisalihoglu, Osman Alpay, Irfan
Özkan and Veysel Toprak, from detention at the first hearing of the case on
2 July. In the appeal to the 9th Heavy Penal Court in Istanbul, it said: “Basic
and critical issues which are needed to shed light on this case are to be found
in the actions of the released suspects.”

The international Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reacted to a report by the Police Department,
which said that the murder of journalist Hrant Dink was organised by “a group
based on friendship”. RSF said, “This report is attempting to clear the
security forces. The question that really needs to be answered is why the
warnings of Erhan Tuncel were
ignored. The police said that ties with Tuncel were cut in November 2006, but
he said at the hearing, ‘I told the police that an attack against Hrant Dink would be organised.’”

In a press briefing on 3 July, one day after the first
hearing in the Hrant Dink murder trial, lawyer Fethiye Cetin called for the trial of all the gendarmerie and
police officers whose relations with the murder suspects have emerged, and who
did not prevent the murder despite knowing about it. Cetin cited Article 83 of
the Penal Code, which deals with “related crimes”, and demanded that these
officers be tried as part of the murder case.

At the first hearing of the Hrant Dink murder trial at
the Istanbul
14th Heavy Penal Court,
the release of detained defendants Salih
Hacisalihoglu, Osman Altay, Irfan
Özkan and Veysel Toprak was decided. Defendant O.S., tried for being the suspected gunman, used his right to
silence. Erhan Tuncel, tried for
incitement to murder, said: “I served the state. I do not know why I am here.”
Defendant Yasin Hayal said: “Tuncel
deceived us. He planned the murder. It was him who built the bomb that was
thrown at Mc Donald’s [in an earlier incident in Trabzon].” The first hearing lasted all day.
All eighteen defendants were questioned and the demands of the defense and the
joint attorneys were listened to. Requests of both sides to widen the
investigation were accepted. The court case was to continue on 1 October.

Detentions and Arrests

Idris Akboga, the editor
of the “Özgür Halk” (Free People) magazine,
was arrested when he went to the Istanbul
11th Heavy Penal Court
on 26 September in order to give a statement on the September issue of the
magazine. He was sent to Bayrampasa prison in Istanbul. The court has accused Akboga of
“praising crimes and criminals”, of “printing and publishing texts of a
terrorist organisation”, of “committing a crime by helping members of a
terrorist organisation or spreading propaganda."

Füsun Erdogan, the
general broadcast coordinator of “Özgür
Radyo” (Free Radio), who had been arrested together with 22 other people in
an operation targeting members of the Marxist Leninist Communist Party (MLKP) on 12 September 2006, is to
appear at the Istanbul
10th Heavy Penal Court
on 26 October for the first time. Others accused of relations with the
organisation are Atilim newspaper
editor Ibrahim Cicek, who is being
held in an F-type prison in Tekirdag, and Atilim publishing coordinator Sedat
Senoglu, being held in an F-type prison in Edirne, former Atilim editor Ziya Ulusoy and Atilim journalist Bayram Namaz. In the 292-page
indictment prepared by Public Prosecutor Ali
Cengiz Haciosmanoglu, prison sentences ranging from 10.5 to 45 years are
being demanded.

Durmus Sahin, a student
of the Ankara Gazi University Education Faculty, was arrested on 11 July when
he refused to shake hands with Minister for Health Recep Akdag. Sahin had said, “I do not shake hands with those in
government who do not provide services to the citizens”. After five days
detention, he was brought before the Olur Criminal Court of Peace. There Sahin
said, “Although I did not want to shake hands, the minister persisted in
wanting tos hake my hands. Because I did not give my hand, he sent me to
prison.” Sahin was released from detention but will be tried. A prison sentence
from six months to two years is being demanded.

Mehmet Cevizci, reporter
for the Dicle News Agency, who was
taking part in a news workshop organised by Press Now and the IPS
Communications Foundation, was arrested by gendarmerie coming to his room
at the Mavi Göl hotel at 5am. He was released at around 2pm after giving a
statement. Cevizci said that he had been arrested at a protest against
“criminal gangs and prostitution”, which ended in disturbances after a banner
saying “Amed [the Kurdish name for Diyarbakir]
is honour, protect your honour” was opened. Cevizci was being searched for
since then.

Issues of the weekly “Coban Atesi” (Shepherd’s Fire) newspaper in Gaziantep
were collected and confiscated after an article in the issue of 3 August 2007
said, “Antep is an industrial city in Northern Kurdistan.”
A week later, Yasin Yetisgen, owner
and editor of the newspaper, was arrested when he went to the Gaziantep 1st Peace Court of First Instance
to give a statement regarding the notification of the confiscation. The
newspaper’s publishing board said in a statement: “Our newspaper, which
supports real freedom of expression, will continue its struggle against all
kind of legal, administrative and political decisions and practices which mean
an attack on the freedoms of thought and expression.” The board also protested
against the “precautionary arrest” of Yetisgen. Yetisgen was released after
three weeks in detention. There has been an arrest warrant issued for writer Hursit Kasikkirmaz of the same
newspaper.

Four people who had been in detention for more than 10
months after the “Gaye” operation targeting the Marxist Leninist Communist
Party (MLKP) in 21 September 2006
were released on 7 August. One of them is Emin
Orhan, the editor of the “Dayanisma”
(Solidarity) newspaper. The case, in which 32 people, nine of them still in
detention, are being tried for “membership in an organisation”, will continue
on 6 December. The Istanbul
9th Heavy Penal Court
decided to continue the detentions of Yusuf
Demir, Yunus Aydemir, Erdal Demirhan,
Ali Haydar Keles and Günes Senyüz.

Sait Bayram and Firat Avci, the news editor and
reporter of Diyarbakir-based “Söz TV and
Newspaper” were arrested after claiming thatjudge Mehmet Yücel Kurtoglu was transferred because he had been taking bribes.
The two reporters were released a month later, on 20 July. They had been sent
to Diyarbakir’s
Closed Prison under the charge of “insulting through the press”. The relevant
article had been published on 18 June 2007. The court case will continue on 31
October.

Sinan Kara, the owner
of the “Datca News” newspaper was
arrested when preparing a book about the city of Batman and its environs. He was arrested on 3
February under the charge of “insulting through the press”. He was released on
3 July, after spending more than four months in an M-type prison in Batman, and
then 20 days in a prison in Mugla.

Trials and Investigations

The trial of Rojda
Kizgin, reporter for the Dicle News Agency (DIHA), Ridvan Kizgin,
former branch president of the Human Rights Assocation (IHD) and Dogan Adibelli
will continue on 30 October. Adibelli had claimed that village guards were
using government bombs to hunt fish, and this was reported by DIHA. The
defendants are being tried under Article 301/2, for “degrading the state’s
military and security forces”.

Emin Karaca, journalist
for the “Yazin” magazine in Turkey and Europe,
had criticised the army for the execution of student revolutionary leaders
Deniz Gezmis, Yusuf Aslan and Hüseyin Inan on the anniversary of their
execution. The Supreme Court of Appeals has ruled that Karaca be retried under
Article 301/2, and the trial continues on 3 October.In September 2005 he was given a five-month
prison sentence which was then converted into a 900 YTL fine. The sentence was
then overruled for a technical reason (a missing signature) and wil now
continue at the 2nd Penal Court
in Istanbul.

The case which retired ambassador and MP for the
Republican People’s Party (CHP) M. Sükrü Elekdag initiated against
Publisher Muzaffer Erdogdu for the
publication of a book entitled “The Treatment of Armenians in the Ottoman
Empire 1915-1916: Documents Presented to Fallodon Viscount Grey by Viscount
Bryce” continues at the Ankara 6th Civil Court of First Instance. Elekdag is
demanding compensation of 20,000 YTL. The book, which was published in November
2005, has also caused the trial of translator Ahmet Güner and historian Taner
Akcam. Akcam is further being tried for an article in the “Birikim” journal. The trial will
continue on 8 November.

Abdurrahman Dilipak and Mehmet Özcan, journalist and editor of
the “Akit” newspaper respectively,
are still on trial at the Bagcilar
2nd Penal Court (Istanbul) for an article entitled “My Country
is Something Else” and published on 27 April 2001. The two defendants are on
trial for “inciting the public to hatred and hostility”. The trial will
continue on 20 November.

It has been decided to continue four trials against
DTP Batman MP Aysel Tugluk for
“spreading propaganda for a terrorist organisation”. The cases were heard at
the Istanbul
13th Heavy Penal Court
on 20 September. Tugluk did not attend, but her lawyer Özcan Kilic demanded that the court consider Tugluk’s immunity (due
to her status as a parliamentarian). The court has cited Article 14 of the
constitution which foresees that “basic rights and freedoms are not abused” and
decided to continue. Up to five years imprisonment are being demanded.

Singer Ferhat
Tunc has been on trial for around three years for an article entitled “A
Revolutionary Leyla and a Song”, published in the “Yeniden Gündem” newspaper on 19 January 2004. He has been charged
with “degrading and ridiculing the court”. In the article, he had criticised
the detention and trial of Leyla Zana
and the former DEP MPs. Up to three years imprisonment are being demanded. The
trial is to continue on 13 December at the Beyoglu 2nd Penal Court (Istanbul) and the newspaper’s responsible editor
Mehmet Colak, who lives abroad, is
also being tried.

In the trial against Hakan Tastan and Turan Topal,
who have been accused of “degrading Turkishness and inciting hatred and
hostility” and “illegally collecting data” with Protestant missionary activity,
there has been a change of court. Following a complaint of lawyer Kemal Kerincsiz and others from the
Great Lawyers’ Union about the judge, the case
has been transferred to the Silivri
1st Penal Court. At the hearing on 26 September,
the demand of Sevgi Erenol, press
spokesperson of the Turkish Orthodox Church, to join the trial as a third party
was denied. The case will be continued on 29 November. Prosecutor Demirhüyük, who was in charge of the
case before, had said on 18 July, “The right to live and spread the religion
one wants is protected by the constitution and our laws in terms of the freedom
of religion and conscience.”

The case against the Belge Publications for translating and publishing Prof. Dr. Dora Sakayan’s “An Armenian in Turkey”
(The Memoirs of Garabet Haceryan) and George
Jerjian’s “The Truth Will Set Us Free” will continue on 3 October. Because
the court cannot reach Jerjian, publisher Ragip
Zarakolu is on trial instead. For Sakayan’s book, both Zarakolu and
translator Atilla Tuygan are on
trial. Zarakolu faces up to 7.5 years imprisonment demanded for “degrading and
ridiculing the State and the Republic” and “insulting the memory of Atatürk”.
Tuygan faces six years imprisonment for “degrading and ridiculing the army”.

Prime Minister Erdogan
lost his court case against “Cumhuriyet”
writer Ilhan Selcuk, who had written
an article entitled “There is No Language Particular to the Reactionary”
published on 6 May 2007. Selcuk had written “The worst thing was how the
reactionary gang who spoke in the name of the Supreme Allah, the Holy Prophet
and the Holy Qu'ran became wild when they had come to power." Erdogan had
demanded 20,000 YTL compensation, but judge Ahmet Metin Tözün at an Ankara
court decreed that there was no criminal element in the words.

"The
state made mistakes. When and where? Yesterday, in the East and South-East.
then in Istanbul.
In Maras and Sivas. Today in Trabzon,
Istanbul, Mersin
and in the South-East,” said journalist Haci
Bogatekin, and had to face court again on 26 September. Because he
criticised state policies in an article entitled "Turkey Has Made
Mistakes", published in his newspaper on 10 March 2007, he is on trial for
"degrading Turkishness, the Republic, state institutions or its
organs" (Article 301). The case will continue on 6 November.

On 21 September, the Kocaeli 2nd Penal Court punished
caricaturist Muhammet Sengöz to 11 months and 20 days imprisonment for a
caricature entitled "Who's next, Mayor?" published in the
"Free Kocaeli" newspaper. The sentence was converted into a
7,000 YTL fine. The prosecutor had called for an acquittal, but nevertheless,
Sengöz was sentenced in the case brought by mayor Ibrahim Karaosmanoglu. Sengöz had reacted to billboards which
Karaosmanoglu had put up around the city which praised his achievements. A
constant theme on the billboards was a person asking, "What's next,
Mayor?" In Sengöz's caricature, a man with his back to the reader and
with his trousers down is asking, "Who's next, Mayor?"

Umut Karakoyun, owner of
the local "Tunceli Emek"
newspaper in Tunceli, eastern Anatolia, was
being tried under Article 301 for accusing the judiciary of bias. Karakoyun has
claimed that the Tunceli governor's office obstructed advertisements in an
arbitrary manner and had written about the governor's press and PR manager Elif Polat. Karakoyun is also accused
of "insulting a public officer through the media". On 21 September,
the Tunceli Penal Court
acquitted him on both accounts.

Sinan Kara, a
journalist who has been imprisoned three times before, was acquitted in a trial
under Article 301, concerning an article he wrote in which he joined EU
Commission Turkey representative Hans Jörg Kretschmer's criticism of the
army. The article was entitled "Barracks Party". At the
hearing on 20 September, the Beyoglu
2nd Penal Court acquitted him. He is also on trial
under Article 301/2 for an article entitled "Justice has become
Militarism's Jester", published in the "Social Democracy"
(Toplumsal Demokrasi) newspaper on 20 November 2006. He will face court again
on 26 October. Kara is also on trial for an article entitled "Full-time
killers", in which he criticised the state and the army in relation to a
bombing in Diyarbakir
in which 10 people died, eight of them children. Again, Article 301 has been
cited, and the case will start on 26 October. Finally, Kara will face the Istanbul 14th Heavy Penal Court
on 30 January 2008 for an article entitled "Isolation Knows No Limits",
writing about isolation cells in prisons. The article was published in the
"Ülkede Özgür Gündem" newspaper on 14 November 2006. In addition, the
"Ülkede Özgür Gündem" newspaper's responsible editor Özlem Aktan
and writer Mustafa Temizkan are on trial for "praising a
criminal" after an article referred to imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah
Öcalan as "the leader of the Kurdish People".

Retired judge Zekeriya
Dilsizoglu is demanding 100,000 YTL compensation from editor Nurgül
Balcioglu of the “Gaziantep Sabah newspaper. Balcioglu had
criticised the judge's claim that "In nine out of ten murders, a woman is
involved". The case began on 14 September at the Bakirköy 8th Penal Court (Istanbul) and will
continue on 29 November.

A case against “Nokta”
magazine editor Alper Görmüs began
on 19 September. The trial is related to the publication of parts of retired
Navy Commander General Özden Örnek’s
diaries. On 29 March, the magazine had published an article entitled “Sarikiz
and Ayisigi in Suprising Detail. We had a narrow escape from two military coups
in 2004!” Following a complaint by Örnek, Görmüs is now on trial. The case will
continue on 29 February 2008 and up to six years and eight months imprisonment
are being demanded.

Dink family
lawyer Erdal Dogan is on trial for
saying that "Hrant was particularly worried about Veli Kücük getting involved in his trial". Veli Kücük, a
retired brigadier general who is infamous in Turkey for his involvement in the
"deep state", is said to have threatened Dink. There is no
investigation against Veli Kücük. Kücük is deamnding 10,000 YTL compensation
for being portrayed as a “murderer” and for being accused without justification.
At the hearing on 18 September, the Beyoglu
4th Penal Court requested more evidence from both
sides. The trial will continue on 22 November.

Yasin Yetisgen, owner and responsible director of the weekly "Coban
Atesi" (Shepherd's Fire) newspaper in Gaziantep,
south-eastern Turkey,
is on trial under Article 216/1 of the Turkish Penal Code. Yetisgen, and the
writer of the article, Hursit
Kasikkirmaz, are charged with “inciting hatred and hostility”. The case is
based on the controversial use of the term “Kurdistan” in the sentence “With a
population of 2 million, Antep is the biggest metropoloe in Northern
Kurdistan”. The case will begin on 4 October at the Gaziantep 10th Penal Court.

Prof.
Dr. Ibrahim Kaboglu and Prof. Dr. Baskin Oran had been on trial
under Article 216/1 for the writing of the report of the Minority Rights and
Cultural Rights Working Group. The two academics had suggested the term
"citizenship of Turkey"
(or literally "Turkey-ness", in Turkish "Türkiyelik") as a
super-identity in their report. Since 14 November 2005 they have been on trial,
with a sentence of between 1.5 and 4.5 years being demanded. An Ankara Penal Court
had aquitted the two academics of "inciting hatred and hostility" on
10 May, but, following the appeal of Ankara Public Prosecutor Hüseyin
Boyrazoglu, the supreme court overturned this decree. On 13 September, the
8th Penal Department of the Court of Appeals decreed that "a new
definition of minority will endanger the unitary state and the inseparability
of the nation".

A
Recep Akkus and an Asim Demir have filed a criminal
complaint against the “Radikal”
newspaper for translating two articles into Turkish and publishing them. The
articles in question are “New Evidence of Armenian Genocide” by the experienced
Middle East correspondent Robert Fisk from the
“Independent” newspaper and “How Sincere is the ‘Never Again’ Slogan?” by Jeff
Jacoby from the “Boston Globe”. Radikal’s responsible editor Hasan Cakkalkurt may face a trial under
Article 301 for “degrading Turkishness”. The complaint is still being
investigated.

Fuat Turgut, the defense lawyer of
Yasin Hayal, a suspect in the Hrant Dink murder trial, is demanding a
total of 20,000 YTL compensation from “Radikal”
columnist Perihan Magden, “Birgün” journalist Ahmet Tulgar and Dink family lawyer Erdal Dogan. The trial was opened on 12 September. In an article
published on 5 July 2007, Magden had described Turgut as a “freak showman”. On
the same day, Tulgar wrote of him as “mad and showy”.

The case of DTP Batman PM Aysel Tugluk and the party’s former Siirt Province
chair Murat Avci continued on 11
September. They are on trial for a statement they made - on World Peace Day.
Tugluk is accused of “spreading terrorist propaganda”. The Diyarbakir 4th Heavy Penal Court has decided to request
an official statement regarding Tugluk’s parliamentarian status. The court has
further decreed that if Avci, who has not attended hearings, does not appear in
court by 13 November, which is the next hearing, he will be brought forcibly.
Tugluk is also being tried for a speech she made in Batman last year. Article
7/2 of the Anti-Terrorism Law has been cited and up to five years imprisonment
are being demanded. The next hearing in this case is 25 October.

The trial against 56 mayors who had written to Danish
Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen
in 2005 in
order to persuade him not to close down Roj
TV has had to be postponed awaiting the answer of Denmark’s media secretary. On 11
September, the Diyarbakir
5th Heavy Penal Court
demanded an original English text on the situation concerning Roj TV for the
second time. The trial will continue on 20 November. The 56 mayors, 54 of whom
are from the pro-Kurdish DTP, and
two from the Social Democratic People’s Party (SHP), are being accused of “knowingly and willingly aiding a
terrorist organisation” by “trying to prevent the loss of a visual propaganda
medium of the terrorist organisation”.The prosecution has demanded the acquittal of three and prison sentences
ranging from 7.5 to 15 years for the other 53. They are being tried under
Articles 314/3 and 220/7 of the Turkish Penal Code.

Hikmet Erden, reporter
for the Dicle News Agency (DIHA) is
being tried for claiming that soldiers were trying to prevent people from
voting for the “A thousand hope” candidates supported by the pro-Kurdish DTP
party in the Karacadag region of Diyarbakir.
Following a criminal complaint by the gendarmerie, the Diyarbakir Public
Prosecution has opened a trial against Erden for “spreading slander in the
press”, citing Article 267 of Law 5237 of the Penal Code and demanding between
one and four years in prison. The case will start at the Diyarbakir 2nd Penal Court on 2 February 2008.

Emin Bal, reporter
for the Dogan News Agency and the “Sirnak News” newspaper, filed a complaint
against police officers for hitting him at the same time as they claimed the
same about him. Bal has been to court eight times for “hitting three police
officers” a year ago. On the other hand, no trial has been opened against the
police officers, whom Bal claims hit him. Bal had a medical report saying that
he was unfit to work for six days. The journalist’s lawyer Mücahit Dursun said, “Although we filed criminal complaints on the
same date, the case against my client has nearly been decided. Our complaint
against the police however, is still waiting at the prosecutor’s office. The
case against Bal will continue on 4 October. Bal claims that he was arrested
and beaten by police officers on 10 October 2006 when he went to court to
research a court case.

Singer Ferhat
Tunc is being tried for saying at a concert in Antalya’s Alanya district on 22 July 2006:
“Just as every soldier who dies in this country is a child of this country,
every guerilla who is killed is this country’s child.” Tunc will appear at the Izmir 10th Heavy Penal Court
on 4 October. He is being tried under Article 7/2 of the Anti-Terrorism Law and
five years imprisonment are being demanded.

Yücel Sayman, former
president of the Istanbul Bar Association, who accused Kemal Kerincsiz’s lawyers of influencing the judiciary at the first
hearing in the trial against journalists from the “Agos” newspaper, is being tried for insulting those same lawyers.
The hearing in question was on 10 May 2006, when editor-in-chief Hrant Dink, editor Arat Dink and licence holder Serkis
Seropyan were being tried. Following a complaint by Kerincsiz, Sayman will
have to appear at the Sisli Penal
Court in February 2008. Article 125 of the Penal
Code is being cited, and up to two years imprisonment are being demanded.

Cagri Karadag and Kemal Bozkurt, the owner and
editor-in-chief of the “Revolution is
the Only Way Movement” magazine were acquitted at a hearing at the Istanbul 14th Heavy Penal Court
on 31 August. The trial had been opened because of two articles entitled
"The Kurds are my brothers and the people in E-type prisons are your
children" and "1 September World Peace Day".The articles were published in the eighth
issue of the magazine in September and October 2004, and the two journalists
had been on trial under Article 7/2 of the Anti-Terrorism Law. In the first article it had said: "As those resisting
become isolated, attacks increase. Let us unite our forces in order to create
an effective resistance against the brutal attacks on the Kurdish movement, the
systematic attacks on the revolutionaries and the torture.” Bozkurt is
furthermore on trial for an article about Mahir
Cayan, a student revolutionary leader of the 1960s, and his friends. He is
accused of “praising a crime and criminals” and will be tried on 18 October at
the Istanbul
2nd Penal Court.

Özgür Ulas Kaplan, the
president of the Tunceli Bar Association, and Hüseyin Tunc, the province chair of the Labour Party (EMEP) were on trial under Article 7/2
of the Anti-Terrorism Law for opposing military operations in a programme
broadcast by Roj TV. They were
acquitted on 16 August. Kaplan and Tunc said that they made a press statement
at the Tunceli Municipality conference room together
with political party representatives and municipality officials at the end of
2006. After the statement, a Roj TV reporter connected with them by phone and
they told the TV channel that operations needed to stop.

On
13 August it emerged that the General
Staff filed a criminal complaint against “Sabah” newspaper’s columnist
Umur Talu for an article published
on 12 June 2007 and entitled, "Are these impossible?" Article 95/4 of
the Military Penal Code has been cited and a sentence ranging from six months
to three years is being demanded. The legal article also envisages an increment
in the sentence because a published text is concerned. Talu is being accused of
"acting in an insulting and derisive manner aimed at undermining relations
between junior and senior officers and destroying the trust in superiors or
commanders". Talu gave a statement to the Press Prosecutor Ismail
Onaran in Istanbul
on 7 August. Talu’s article, which expressed common complaints of lower ranking
soldiers, included a call for "human treatment when alive for
noncommissioned officers and the totally excluded sergeants by the high-ranking
officers who attend their funerals", as well as "their admission to
army leisure centres". The Initiative against The Crime of Thought has
protested against Talu's prosecution, saying, "Civilians are still being
tried by Military Penal Law, which is incongruous with the promises made in the
EU reform packages."

Mustafa Koyuncu, the
responsible director of the local “Emirdag”
newspaper in Afyonkarahisar has been accused of insulting local authorities in
the press. He was arrested on 13 March and held for a week. His trial, now
without detention, will continue on 3 October. In the 12 March 2007 issue of
the newspaper, Koyuncu had criticised the police in Emirdag in an article
entitled “Should We Enter the EU Like This? They Are Abusing Their Positions”.
The article quotes claims from people who had been arrested in Emirdag. The
journalist was stopped when driving and arrested. 44 police officers have filed
complaints against him.

Nurdan Acur, theHuman Resources Manager of the Merkez Newspaper Magazine Group, is suing the publishing companies
of three news websites, www.superpoligon.com, www.celiknet.com,
and www.haberciler.com,
for 6,000 YTL compensation. The websites had reported on the suit which the
Turkey Journalists’ Syndicate (TGS)
has filed against Acur for pressurising trade union members to resign from the
trade union. She is said to have handed out pre-prepared Trade Union
Resignation Forms to employees of the Merkez Newspaper Magazine Press
Publishing Company, whether they were members of the trade union or not. Acur
said in her complaint of 25 July that her personal rights had been attacked.
The editor-in-chief of the website Gercekgündem
(Real agenda), Baris Yarkadas was
told on 12 August to attend the hearing at the Sisli 1st Court of First
Instance on 21 November.

On 9 August, “Hürriyet”
newspaper’s reporter Sebati Karakurt
was told by the Istanbul
10th Heavy Penal Court
to pay a preliminary fine of 455 YTL. Karakurt is being tried for a feature on
the Kongra-Gel (popularly still
known as the PKK) miltiants on the Qandil mountain in Northern
Iraq. Responsible editors Hasan
Kilic and Necdet Tatlican have
been sentenced to pay 40,000 YTL and 20,000 YTL fines respectively. The feature
had been published under the title “In Kandil feminism has gone beyond Kurdish
nationalism" on 10 October 2004. Karakurt and Kilic are accused of
“spreading the statements of a terrorist organisation”. Should the fines not be
paid, the court case will continue on 13 November with a possibility of prison
sentences.

On
8 August, the prosecution in Sarköy (province of Tekirdag in Thrace) demanded
ten years imprisonment for journalist Yakup Önal of the local "Sarköy'ün Sesi" ("The Voice
of Sarköy) newspaper for insulting mayor Can Gürsoy of the Justice and
Development Party (AKP) and two municipal council members, Olcay Yücel
and Ercan Yücel. The case will continue on 31 October. The case had initially
been handled by prosecutor Tamer Soysal. On his transferal to Diyarbakir, the case had
been taken over by prosecutor Hüseyin Kocaslan. Soysal had appealed
against the acquittal of the journalist in an earlier case (14 March), related
to an article entitled, "Beer drinkers in blue-flagged Sarköy,
beware!" In that case, Önal had been on trial for "violating the
secrecy of an investigation" and "attempting to influence the
judiciary".

The Bagcilar Prosecution conducted investigations into
“Radikal” newspaper’s columnists Perihan Magden and Yildirim Türker at the beginning of August. Prosecutor Ali Cakir conducted a formal
investigation into Magden after she wrote an article entitled “Tonight your
paint is everywhere, state”, but dismissed proceedings on 29 June. Magden had
criticised the ban on news coverage of the weapons Arsenal found in a home in
Ümraniye (Istanbul)
in her article. Magden was also investigated for “harming the public image of
the military” in the same article. Following a complaint by a Recep Akkus, there is also an
investigation against Türker under Article 301/2 for “degrading the state’s
armed forces”. The investigation is related to an article entitled “Invisible
Attack”, published on 8 July 2007
in the Radikal supplement. Türker had written about the
process which led to Hrant Dink’s murder, including the indifference of media
and state authorities in the face of racism.

On 3 August it was reported that the Supreme Court of
Appeals ratified the decision of the Sisli
Penal Court to drop its case against writer Orhan Pamuk. Pamuk had been on trial
under Article 159 of the old Penal Code after saying in an interview with
weekly Swiss magazine “Das Magazin”
that “One million Armenians and 30,000 Kurds have been killed on this soil”. Up
to three years imprisonment had been demanded, but when the Ministry of Justice
had refused permission for trial, the Sisli court had dropped the case.

On demand of the Ministry of the Interior, Mayor Abdullah Demirbas of the Sur
municipality in Diyarbakir
lost his post in June and the municipal council was dissolved.The Sur municipality had offered its services
in Kurdish and Arabic as well as Turkish. Now the 8th Chamber of the State
Council has opened a case against Demirbas and council members for “abusing
their position” and “violating the law on insurgency”. In the indictment,
prison sentences ranging between one and three and a half years are demanded
for the council members deciding on the multilingual services and Osman Baydemir, the mayor of Greater
Diyarbakir. A total of 21 persons will be tried at the Diyarbakir 2nd Penal Court on 7 November for “abusing
their position” and “violating the law on Turkish letters”. Demirbas has been acquitted
in another case concerning an article entitled “Local Government in Light of
Multilingual Municipal Services” which he had presented to the European Social
Forum.

At the end of July, the Ankara 13th Civil Court of First Instance
partially accepted the complaint of a Sükrü
Elekdag against “Agos” writer
and historian Taner Akcam and
decreed that Akcam should pay compensation. Akcam had written an article
entitled “Gündüz Aktan and the Saik Issue in the Genocide” and it was published
in the weekly newspaper on 6, 20 and 27 January and 3, 10, 17 February 2006.
Elekdag, an MP, had claimed that his personal rights were attacked and he was
insulted. He had demanded 20,000 YTL compensation. It was decided that Akcam
and the newspaper should pay 10,000 YTL and legal interest. Lawyers have
appealed against the decision, arguing that it violates the European Convention
on Human Rights.

After saying in a speech, “We will count an attack on
Kerkük as an attack on Diyarbakir”,
DTP province chair Hilmi Aydogdu was
detained for one and a half months. Since 5 April, he has been on trial without
detention. The court has listened to journalists who interviews Aydogdu and it
has been decided that local journalist Abdülselam
Tayfun’s statement also be taken. Now the Diyarbakir 8th Penal Court is going to evaluate CD
recordings. At a hearing on 26 July, Aydogdu’s lawyer Hayrettin Güzel had been given time to examine the analysis of the
recording. Aydogdu is being tried under Article 216/1 of the old Penal Code for
“inciting the public to hatred and hostility” and up to 4.5 years imprisonment
are being demanded. The case will continue on 2 October.

Lawyer FerhatBayindir had taken on the case of Hasin
Is, who had been killed in front of the Batman Municipality
building two years ago, on 27 August 2005. Bayindir himself was put on trial
after a press statement he made on 16 June 2005. He was accused of
"insulting the police force". The case will continue at the Batman Heavy Penal Court
on 4 October.

In the case against Diyarbakir mayor Osman Baydemir, the expert report has been questioned. Baydemir is
said to have told the “Tempo”
magazine in an interview that “Turks and Kurds cannot live together”.On 24 July the Bagcilar 2nd Penal Court (Istanbul) accepted
Baydemir’s lawyer Özcan Intas’s claim
that the expert had confused the utterances of Baydemir and DTP Siirt province
chair Murat Avci and the lawyer’s
demand for correction. The court has ordered the correction, and, if recordings
of Baydemir exist, their analysis. Baydemir has been on trial under Article 216
of the old Penal Code for “inciting the public to hatred and hostility”. The
case will continue on 6 December.

Eren Keskin, lawyer and
former president of the Istanbul branch of the Human Rights Association (IHD), will not be tried for “inciting
to hatred and hostility” after a speech she made in the Bulanik district of
Mus, in which she used the term “Kurdistan”. The Bulanik prosecution decreed
that “however unacceptable it was, it consisted of expressing an opinion” and
dropped proceedings. In the justification it said that the suspect had used the
term Kurdistan to refer to the area mostly
inhabited by Kurds. However, she will be tried for the use of the same term
used at a panel entitled “Woman, Society and Family” at the Viransehir Culture
and Arts Festival two and a half years ago. Keskin has said that there are 15
trials open against her under Articles 159 and 301.

Ali Riza Vural, editor of Doz Publications, is being tried for
“degrading and ridiculing the Republic in print” after publishing Mesut Barzani’s two-volume book
entitled “Barzani and the Kurdish National Freedom Movement”. The Beyoglu 2nd Penal Court
decided on 18 July to postpone the trial of Ahmet Zeki Okcuoglu, who had initally been tried in relation with
the book. The case was opened under Article 301/2 on 5 October 2005 and three
years imprisonment is being demanded for Vural. The book was initially
published in February 2003 and then withdrawn after a change in law. The second
edition came out in May 2005. Vural will appear in court on 28 November.

The case against Arat
Dink and Serkis Seropyan, editor
and licence holder of the Agos
newspaper respectively, continued on 17 July. The two journalists are being
tried for an interview which murdered Hrant Dink gave the Reuters News Agency and for an article entitled “A Vote against 301”. The trial was opened
after Recep Akkus of the nationalist
Great Lawyers’ Union filed a
complaint. The trial, brought under Article 301/1 continues on 11 October. Up
to three years imprisonment are being demanded.

Durmus Sahin, a student
of the Ankara Gazi University Education Faculty, was arrested on 11 July when
he refused to shake hands with Minister for Health Recep Akdag. Sahin had said, “I do not shake hands with those in
government who do not provide services to the citizens”. After five days
detention, he was brought before the Olur Criminal Court of Peace. There Sahin
said, “Although I did not want to shake hands, the minister persisted in
wanting tos hake my hands. Because I did not give my hand, he sent me to
prison.” Sahin was released from detention but will be tried. A prison sentence
from six months to two years is being demanded.

The Ankara 14th Civil
Court of First Instance has rejected the complaint of Prime Minister Erdogan against “Sabah” columnist Hincal Uluc. After the murder of Hrant
Dink, he had written an article entitled “Sects and Presidential Candidacy”,
which was published on 7 February. Erdogan had demanded 20,000 YTL compensation
for “serious atttack and slander”, but on 12 July the court rejected the
complaint. Uluc had claimed that the positions of Istanbul Police Chief Celalettin Cerrah and Minister of the
Interior Abdülkadir Aksu were being
protected after the murders of priest Andrea
Santoro and journalist Hrant Dink
because of their connections with religious sects and that the Prime Minister
was closely linked to sects.

On 8 July, the Ankara
14th Civil Court of First Instance also rejected the 20,000 YTL compensation
case which the KOZA gold mining company
(which uses cyanide in its extraction) opened against the “Günlük Evrensel” newspaper. The complaint had been made when the
newspaper reported on events which took place between KOZA goldmine employees
and municipal officials on the one hand and the public on the other at the
“Cyanide-Gold Environment Panel”. The Izmir
2nd Civil Court of First Instance had rejected two complaints of the same
company against the “Birgün”
newspaper’s editor Ibrahim Cesmecioglu
and reporter Elcin Yagiz after the
publication of two articles entitled, “Road of Acid” and “Closure Trial for
Ovacik Gold Mine”.

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